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we’ll stay beneath you,” Glaze said sympathetically.
    “That’s not the kind of fall I’m afraid of,” she answered.  “I love the lady Iasco, and I’m afraid that if I climb down there, I may not get back to the village.  I’d like to leave this island in some ways, but I don’t want to run away from it,” there was profound conflict in her voice.
    “I’m going to stay.  I’ll wait for the temple to open up and let me back in,” she decided after a long pause of silence.
    “What do we do?” Glaze asked Marco.
    Marco shifted his balance on the stones he rested on.  “We go on,” he said.  “At least, I’m going to go on.  If you want to wait with her, I understand,” he declared.
    “No, I came to be with you,” Glaze said immediately.  “Mirra wants me to help you, not the pretty girl,” he gave a rueful laugh.
    Marco remained in position for a minute longer.  He had a feeling that Porenn was supposed to be with them, but he couldn’t force her to.  “Porenn, we’re going to go,” he spoke loudly, facing upward.  “Tell your friends we’ve left, and tell the Lady thank you, and good luck in your future on the island.”
    He started moving downward once more, and after a pause he heard Glaze start moving as well.
    A moment later, he heard Glaze utter “Ouch!”
    “Are you okay?” Marco asked.
    “A rock fell on me,” Glaze answered.
    “Sorry,” Porenn’s voice dropped down between the stony walls.  “I’m coming with you after all.”
    Marco gave a pleased smile in the dark, then said nothing as he resumed the slow journey down into the cave.
    An hour later he came to a wide ledge, and stopped, as Glaze came down to join him, and then Porenn arrived seconds later.  He saw a smudge of dirt on her face in the dim light, and grinned at her as they crowded together.
    “Is everyone okay?” he asked.
    “Never better,” Glaze replied, while Porenn silently nodded her head.
    They resumed the long journey, and Marco stopped only once more along the way until they reached the flat level that led to the entry to the Bath of Asclepius.
    “Are we done climbing?” Glaze groaned.
    “Yes and no,” Marco answered.  “We’re done with the hard climbing.  We’ll have to go down stairs, but first we go through one of the great wonders of the journey.”
    “What is it?” Porenn asked, the first time she had spoken in the cave.
    “You’ll see,” Marco said as he led them forward, and then opened the door to the next portion of the cave a moment later.
    “What is this?” Glaze asked in astonishment as he craned his neck to see around Marco’s shoulder.
    “It’s a magical bath!  It heals you.  It heals anything and everything!  It made this hand come back to life after Lady Iasco reattached it,” Marco held up the golden right hand.  “You just walk through the bath and everything is better.”
    “What about our clothes?” Porenn asked.
    “Well, the two times I came through here, I didn’t have any, as you may remember,” he grinned.  “But if you take them off and carry them over your head, I think you can keep them dry.  At least,” he considered, as he looked at Porenn appraisingly, “Glaze and I can,” he evaluated her petite stature, as Glaze grinned.
    They eventually worked out a process for Porenn to undress outside the door and hand her clothes in to Glaze, who carried her garments over his head with his own.  The bath was wonderful, refreshing and invigorating for Marco and Glaze, neither of who had any injuries to be healed.  Glaze left Porenn’s clothes sitting dry on the ground after exiting the bath, then he and Marco stepped through the second door and waited for five minutes.  Marco’s golden hand tingled with energy, but he said nothing to Glaze about it
    “You didn’t peek, did you?” Porenn asked in a cross tone when she finally opened the door to join them, though both Glaze and Marco could sense the humor in her voice.  “That